Humor – Page 2 – Spinor Info

No photography

Mar 062016

The other day, I saw this media photo of a SpaceX rocket that was readied for launch:

The photographer’s choice to include the No Photography sign in this picture reminded me of a No Photography sign I saw a few years ago in Budapest, at a construction site in the vicinity of the US embassy:

These signs are ridiculous. You don’t see them often in democracies; they were very frequently encountered in the former Soviet Bloc. Which once made me wonder… all a Western spy had to do was to drive around the country and mark the location of No Photography signs in order to get a fairly accurate map of all the communist regime’s sensitive installations.

In the era of the ubiquitous smartphone with HD camera, not to mention more advanced gadgets like Google’s Glass or even toy drones with HD video, these signs are pitifully pointless.

The grieving prophet

Humor, Politics, Religion No Responses »

Jan 122015

The cover art of the upcoming issue of Charlie Hebdo has been leaked. Unlike many of their cartoons that were deliberately gross and provocative, this one depicts a grieving Mohammed:

I have a suspicion (make it a hope) that even among Muslims, few will find this cover offensive, especially in light of last week’s events.

But even if I am wrong… I said it before and I will be saying it again: as a citizen of a liberal democracy, it is my fundamental right to ridicule other people’s beliefs. At the same time, it is my fundamental duty to defend, risking life and limb if it comes to that, the rights of other people to believe, no matter how ridiculous those beliefs appear to me. After all, Ahmed Merabet, the Muslim policeman who was first at the Charlie Hebdo scene, died defending the magazine’s right to ridicule his beliefs.

The scientist’s view

Humor, Science No Responses »

Dec 182014

Just came across this cartoon, by no means new, but wonderful, depicting a scientist’s view of the world, courtesy of the Abstruse Goose:

Yes, I can confirm it myself: this is exactly how I see the world. And then some.

Yoda walking sticks

Humor, Personal No Responses »

Mar 272014

Captured by my wife at a nearby supermarket today:

Eat mousies

Culture, Humor No Responses »

Apr 162013

One of my favorite cartoonists is the unforgettable Bernard Kliban (B. Kliban, as per his signature) whose unique cats always make me laugh.

The other day, my wife wondered: Could it be that Kliban is of Czech descent? She was asking because there is another amazing cartoonist, Miroslav Bartak, whose irreverent humor is not altogether unlike Kliban’s. Indeed, as anyone who read the story of The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek can testify, there is something uniquely funny about Czech humor… and at least some of Kliban’s cats do remind us of that humor.

So I checked, and… close. Kliban was born in the US, of course, but the family name apparently is a Jewish name of Western Ukrainian origin. So perhaps the cultural roots of Messrs. Bartak and Kliban are not that far apart after all.